One of the things that I learned from reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom” is his ability to forgive. Under the Apartheid government of South Africa, he was robbed of 27 years of his life by being falsely imprisoned. Twenty-seven years of not seeing his children grow. Twenty-seven years away from his wife, family, and friends. Twenty-seven years of his jailors trying to break him down and steal his dignity. Twenty-seven years of his freedom stolen all because he was Black, and he spoke out against what was wrong. Everything they stole from him, no one would blame him for being angry and wanting to lash out because of all that was taken from him, but he didn’t. Instead, Nelson Mandela forgave those who imprisoned him. He forgave those who tried to break him down and rip away his dignity. He showed this by seating the prison guards in the front row at his inauguration and by making the outgoing Apartheid government a part of his administration.
Nelson Mandela understood something that seems so easy but is a tough journey and that is honoring dignity. He didn’t just honor dignity he was the master of dignity. It was how he survived, and it was how he was able to change the destiny of a country and the lives of all who lived in it. Dr. Donna Hicks PhD calls the journey to becoming a master of dignity the “Mandela Consciousness.” It is a journey I take every day. It is about those three connections to dignity. We want to connect to our own dignity, the dignity of others, and to something higher (Dr. Donna Hicks PhD, Leading with Dignity). The most challenging part of my walk with dignity is my ability to learn to forgive myself. In my journey I often would speak about those who had hurt me and how that pain had altered the course of my life. More important than that, I had to learn to forgive myself for the harm I caused. I learned that the pain I felt from dignity violations was the same pain I caused when I was the violator. There is nothing more eye opening than realizing someone is out there in the world hurting because of you.
Those thoughts of the pain I have caused keep me balanced. It is how I fight those biases that want to lead me down the wrong road. Please understand that I don’t dwell on the negative. I consider those experiences as a road map on how not to be a dignity violator but if I slip, I learn how to own my behavior and ask for forgiveness. Every experience I have had has led me to this point. I am a different person. I am not perfect and as I have said before there are dents in my armor that I hammer out one dent at a time.
In my journey I have had the honor of sharing my thoughts with you through my words. This is amazing to me because writing and sharing who I am were not my strengths. It is interesting how life works. You see I connect to something higher, and it works for me. I have faith in myself and in the possibilities that we can change the world or our small piece of it. I want to thank all of you who read these words and share them with your family and friends. I am working to take the pain that I often shared and caused in my life and turn it into joy and hope. I am blessed to have all of you take this journey with me in achieving “Mandela Consciousness.”
“We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity — a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.” Nelson Mandela, Presidential Inaugural Speech, delivered 10 May 1994, Pretoria, South Africa
Charles Redd RN
Dignity Freedom Fighter
Dignity Freedom Fighter 